Street-sprinkler



(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 25, I899. C. HAESKE.

STREET SPRINKLER.

(Application filed July 16, 1897.)

2 Shasta-Sheet l.

No. 623,600. Patented Apr. 25, I899. c. HAESKE.

STREET SPRINKLER.

(Application filed. July 16, 1897.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-8heet 2.

Units CHARLES I'IAESKE, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

STREET-SPRINKLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters l atent No. 623,600, dated April 25, 1899.

Application filed July 16, 1897.

To (til whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES HAESKE, of South Bend, St. Joseph county, Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Street-Sprinklers; and I do declare that the following is a full and accurate description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvements from the front of a sprinklerwagon. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same-arranged at the back of a sprinklerwagon. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the sprinkler from the front. Fig. 4 is a perspective of the same from the rear. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 6 is an elevation showing the mode of mounting the sprinklers ready forattachment to the sprinkler-wagon. Fig.7is an elevation showingthe mode of mountingsome of the operative mechanism readyfor attachment to the sprinklerwagon. Fig. 8 isaperspective of the drivers footboard, showing the controlling mechanism thereon.

The first part of my invention relates to the sprinkler, and the second part relates to the mechanism for supporting the same, and the third part to the operative mechanism.

For convenience I will divide the description on lines as above, without, however, intending to confine myself to the exact details of structure described, because, as will be apparent, these details may be varied without departing from the invention embodied or introducing any substantially different mode or principle of action and for the further reason that to attempt a description of all the struc tural modifications which have occurred to me would greatly enlarge this specification without adequately covering the field.

The sprinkler-This invention belongs to the type of sprinklers shown and claimed in Letters Patent No. 381,986 issued to Charles M. Collins May 1, 1888, wherein there is a series of jet-openings for the passage of the water;, arranged in planes transverseto the axis of the cylinder which constitutes the sprinkler, and an internal piston-valve which is capable of motion within said cylinder to cover or uncover said jet-openings or a part of them to increase, diminish, or cut off the flow of sprinkler-water through said orifices. Therefore the sprinkler 1 consists of a hollow cylinder, open at both ends, preferably of brass, .but possibly of some other suitable or available material. a head 2, which constitutes the receivingbase, whereby the cylinder 1 is supported and attached to the vehicle by which it is transported and whereby water is received from the reservoir and conducted into the sprinkler.

The cylinder 1 is provided with perforations, which may be slits or holes arranged in parallel series, and these perforations serve as exits for the effluent water. -A piston 3 is adapted to move inside the cylinder 1, and according to its position it covers and closes all of said orifices or one or more of the parallel series of orifices, or it may leave them all open and free, as desired. The piston 3 is supported upon and carried by the pistonrod 4, which has a supporting-bearing 5 within the head 2 and an exterior bearing either within an extension of said cylinder, as in the invention of I-Iaberle patented January 20, 1892, No. 467,503, or in an exterior yoke 6, attached to the outer end of the cylinder 1. The yoke is preferred, because it enables me to withdraw the piston entirely from the cylinder 1, and thus permit the atmospheric air to gain access to it on all sides to dry the water out of the fibrous packing which I prefor to use and which is benefited by thus drying out while the sprinkling-machine is out of use.

With a non-fibrous packing or a packing non-absorbent as to water it would not be useful to withdraw the piston from the cylinder, and the form of the exterior guide shown in the patent to Haberle, referred to above, would be preferable.

A sliding shield or cover 7, fitted to the exterior of the cylinder .1 and sliding thereon, may be adjusted to cover a larger or smaller number of the jet-holes in the side of said cylinder 1, as it may be desired to cut off the upper jets, as when passing a vehicle, or all of'them may be out off, as when passing a cross-walk. This quick and temporary control can be effected more easily with the slide 7 than with the piston 3, which latter could not control the upper jets without cutting off the outflow entirely. A lug 14 serves for the attachment of the operative mechanism.

It is attached at one end to The piston 3 is preferably composed of three plates capable of motion toward each other under force of a screw, and between said plates are two disks of fibrous material mixed with india-rubber, which are circular in form and have a diameter equal to the internal diameter of cylinder 1, which they are required to fit tightly. Being made largely of indiarubber, said disks may be caused to expand slightly by increased pressure of the pistondisks to compensate for slight wearing away by abrasion in passing in and out of the cylinder 1 and rubbing across the jet-orifices.

The inner end of the cylinder 1 is contracted to form a shoulder or seat against which the piston-packing closes when the piston is thrust entirely home in said cylinder to make a more sureclosure against the passage of water than might be made without said seat.

On the outer side of the cylinder 1, at its inner end, there is a flange 9, Figs. 3 and 5, having an undercut groove 10 to receive, confine, and guide one edge of the slide 7. The opposite edge of said slide is similarly confined and guided in the rabbet-groove 11, made in the collar-ring 12, which encircles the outer end of the cylinder 1 and constitutes the base of the yoke 6 and means whereby said yoke is connected to and supported by said cylinder. For the sure attachment of the ring 12 to the cylinder 1 said ring and cylinder are screw-threaded, and in addition the ring is severed at one side and the cut port-ion is reunited by screw 13, whereby when said ring has been screwed on to the proper point of adjustment it can be locked at that point by said clamp-screw 13.

The head 2 is preferably made of cast-iron and is provided with a side inlet-neck 15. Connection with the water-tank is preferably made with a flexible hose in the usual manner. For convenience and economy of metal the head 2 is preferably made globular in form; but form is not material to any of the operative parts of the apparatus. \Vhen made globular in form and provided with a side inlet, it is necessary to provide space for the inner end of the piston-rod 4 when said piston shall be moved home to the seat 8. If the water-inlet 15 were at the back instead of side of the head 2, said piston-rod could pass into and through said neck; but that would involve more length of hose or a longer neck 15 with a bend. I therefore provide the head 2 with a hollow project-ion or pocket 16, into which the piston-rod may pass when the piston moves home to its seat 8.

On that part of the head 2 which will be the upper side when attached to its support ready for use there is added a projection 17, which is provided with one or more undercut cells 18 to receive and seat the head or heads of the bolts which attach the head 2 to its support. This permits the removal of said head 2 from its support without the entire re- I moves.

moval of said bolts and is highly conducive to convenience.

The inner end of the cylinder 1 and its flangeO is fitted to a rabbet or seat formed in the end of the head 2 and is secured therein by the heads of three or more bolts screwed into head 2 so close to said rabbet that their heads or washers under said heads will span the joint and rest on said flange 9. This is a common method of securing said parts together with ease of removal or adjustment.

llfechanism for supporting the sprin7cler. The sprinklers heretofore have been mounted both in front of and behind the main or rear supporting-wheels of the vehicle and in position to project the water streams in vertical or horizontal planes, as desired; but their attachments have been to brackets'secured to the vehicle directly,-s0 that said attachment or removal was necessarily effected singly, and the mode of support at the rear of the wheels was necessarily different from the mode of support when in front of the wheels.

I obviate much of the labor, all of the inconvenience, and a considerable part of the cost of the method heretofore by attaching both of my sprinkler-heads to a single memher, which therefore carries said sprinklers and in turn may be fastened to any part of the vehicle desired. The member referred to is the bar 19, to each end of which is attached a depending bracket 20, and the sprinklerheads 2 are secured to said brackets by the bolts seated in the cells 18, as heretofore described. The bar 19 may therefore be fitted withits brackets 20 and the sprinkler-heads attached and all the parts properly adjusted independently of the vehicle portion of the machine and may be shipped separately and more safely than ever before. When the whole apparatus is ready to be assembled for use, the bar 19 is placed crosswise the bedframe of the vehicle, either before or behind the wheels, as desired, as shown, respectively, in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, and secured by bolts to said bed-frame. A brace from the bottom of the bracket 20 to the bed-frame may be employed, if desired.

As the sprinkler is always located in the plane of the vehicles rear wheel, it is useful to attach to the sprinkler-head a mud fenderor shield 21 to guard the sprinkler againstmud and grit thrown from the wheel, which would be liable to obstruct and damage the slide 7 and surface of the cylinder over which it The fender 21 may be conveniently attached to the projection 16 by a clip and to the bar 19 by a suitable small bracket.

llfechanism for opemting the spm'n7cle'r. The piston 3 is actuated and controlled by a lever 22, which at its lower or free end is coupled to the end of the piston-rod 4- and at its upper or pivoted end is attached bya j ointclip to the side of the water-tank 23 or other convenient part of the vehicle, and the lever 22 is controlled by the driver on his seat said bar to the same.

ful features.

through the medium of the treadle 24, the rock-shaft 25, rock-shaft crank 26, and connecting-rod 27, the treadle 24 and crank 26 being merely arms of one lever, of which the rock-shaft 25 is the central pivoted portion. In a general way the treadle, rock-shaft, and connecting-rod are similar to the devices heretofore used to operate the pistons in the sprinklers of Collins and Haberle hereinbefore referred to, but there are embodied in the parts herein shown various novel and use- First, the two treadle rockshafts required to operate the two sprinklers are assembled and mounted upon a bar 28 instead of being independently attached to the bed-frame or other part of the vehicle, and the bar 28, carrying all the treadle mechanism for operating the pistons, is as a unit brought to and mounted upon the bed-frame of the vehicle, and all of said treadle mechanism is attached to the vehicle by the bolts which attach utility and convenience. The connecting-rod 27 is made adjustable as to length by means of the clip 29, which screws upon the threaded end of said rod and shortens or lengthens the effective length of the same, according to the distance which said clip is screwed upon said end. A quick -return spring 30 is wound around the rock-shaft 25 to move the treadle back quickly and withdraw the piston when the jet-orifices are to be opened. The upper treadle ends of levers 2% project upward through slots in the drivers footboard 31 and normally rest back against or close to the end of the tank below the drivers seat. When the lever is in that normal position, the piston 3 will be at its farthest forward extension and the tank 23 em pty. That is the proper position in which the parts should be left when the sprinkler goes off duty, because the pistonpacking will then be exposed to the air and enabled to dry and prevent corrosion of the metal parts. WV hen the sprinkler-tank23is to be filled for duty, the treadles 24 must first be thrust forward to the front ends of their slots and the pistons thereby thrust back into the cylinders 1 against the seats 8. In that position the treadle-levers 24 are retained by locking behind stops 32, which for that purpose project from the sides of the slots. When the sprinkler goes on duty, the driver decides whether on that particular day or locality it is desirable to employ all or a definite part of the jet-orifices, and heretofore the footboardslot has been provided with a series of stop projections and a rack along its side, with either one of which the treadle might engage 'to hold the piston in the desired position; but

because it is in service generally necessary to frequently thrust the piston to its seat it required an amount of care on the part of the driver to make sure of the return of the treadle to its proper stop very difficult to secure, and this will be easily comprehended when it is considered that the driver is re- This is a point of great nearly as possible simultaneously with his feet and at the same time care for his team and other matters occurring on the street. To obviateall these difficulties, I place along each side of the footboard-slot a rack 33 and provide a short bolt 34,.which may be placed in either pair of said rack-notches to serve as a stop for the treadle. If one-third of the jets are to be employed, said' bolt'will be placed in the first notches. Half the jets will require the stop to be in the middle notches and all the jets in the last notches. This bolt therefore limits temporarily the length of the slot, as indicated, so that the driver is not required to give any thought as to the distance the treadle shall move backward in opening the jets. When flow is to be stopped, he simply 'pushes the treadle forward to the farthest stop, and when fiowis to be commenced again with his boot-toe he simply presses the treadle sidewiseto release it from the stop 32, knowing that it will be arrested at the proper place by the stop-bolt 34 To prevent displacement and loss of the bolts 34:, they are attached to the footboard by short chains. It is evident this is only one of many ways in which an adjustable stop for the treadle-lever 24: may be arranged; but the one described above is cheap and efficient. The slide 7 is controlled and actuated by a treadle 35, also attached to the drivers footboard; but in this case preferably merely a fiat spring fast to the footboard at one end and at the free end connected quired to manipulate two of said treadles as with a rocking lever 36 below the footboard.

Said rocking lever by means of a connectingrod 37 actuates a rock-shaft 38, which rests in proper bearings along the bed-frame, to a point opposite the slide 7, where the arm 39 of said rock-shaft by means of a connectingrod 40 is attached to the lug 14 of the slide 7. The resiliency of the spring-treadle 35 keeps said slide normally drawn back away from all the jet-holes, but permitsthe driver by depressing said spring-treadle to project said slide over a greater or. less portion of said holes at will. When the sprinklers are located at the rear of main wheels, they are reversed, so that the pistons draw to the rear.

This is for the purpose of placing said sprinklers near to the wheel. Whether in front or behind, it is necessary in order to economize room to arrange the piston to draw away from the wheel. When the sprinklers are arranged behind the main wheel, the levers 22 are brought together at their jointed ends and pivoted to a bracket 41, attached to the bedframe instead of to the side of the tank.

No change is required in any of the operative parts described except to suitably lengthen out the operative connections.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. The cylinder 1 provided with the flange 9, and the undercut groove 10, combined with the ring 12, bearing the yoke 6, and havinga IIO rabbet-groove 11, and the slide 7, fitted, confined and guided by said grooves, as set forth.

2. The yoke 6, provided with a screwthreaded collar 12, severed at one point and provided with a clamp-screw at 13 combined with the perforated cylinder 1, the piston 3, and piston-rod 4, having its outer bearing in said yoke, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The sprinkler-cylinder 1, piston 3, its piston-rod 4 and outer bearingguide combined with an inner guide 5, and a supporting-head 2 substantially asset forth.

4. In a street-sprinkler, the cylinder 1, the piston 3 piston-rod 4 and outer guide for said piston-rod supported by the yoke 6, combined with the supporting-head 2, provided with an inner guide 5, substantially as set forth.

5. The sprinkler-cylinder 1, piston 3,pistonrod 4, and outer and inner guides for said piston-rod, combined with the supportinghead 2 provided with the side inlet 15, and the hollow projecting pocket or hollow stud 16, substantially for the purpose set forth.

6. The supporting-head 2, for a streetsprinkler,provided with the projection 17, having one or more bolt-head cells 18, for the purpose set forth.

7. The bar 19 as a detachable member ofa perambulating sprinkler-machine, combined with the brackets 20 and sprinklers 1 2, each provided with projection 17 and bolt-cells 18, substantially as set forth.

8. The sprinkler 1, and sprinkler-head 2 provided with the side inlet 15, and rear projecting hollow stud or pocket 16, combined with the mud-fender 21 mounted thereon substantially as shown and described.

9. Combined with the tank and mechanism of a perambulating sprinkler-machine, the two treadle-levers 24, 24, (for operating the sprinkler-pistons) mounted upon a bar 28, capable, as a unit, of being attached to, or

detached from the bed-frame of said machine substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, in a perambulating spri11kler-machine, with the sprinkler and its piston 3, and piston-rod 4, the lever 22, variable-length connecting-rod 27, rock-shaft 25 and treadle-lever 24 substantially as set forth.

11. The sprinkler 1, piston 3 piston-rod 4, and the operative members 22, 27, 25, 24 combined with the quick-return spring 30, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination with the sprinkler its piston, and operative treadle-lever 24, combined with the racks 33 and movable stopbolt 34 substantially for the purpose set forth.

1 In a perambulating sprinkler-machine, the sprinkler, its piston and operative lever 24, combined with a movable stop adjustable to limit, as desired, the movement of said treadle-lever, substantially for the purpose set forth.

14. In a perambulating sprinkler-machine, in combination, the sprinkler, its piston 3, slide 7 and operative treadles 24 and 35 ar- -ranged upon the drivers footboard 31 and adapted to be wholly operated by the drivers feet, slots 'in said footboard for said levers 24, 24, each of said slot-s having a fixed stop 32, and a movable stop, adjustable to vary and limit the eifective length of said slot as desired, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

15. The sprinkler-slide 7 its rock-shaft38, with its arms and connecting-rods, combined with the rock-lever 36, and elastic treadle 35 mounted upon the drivers footboard adapted to be operated Wholly by said drivers foot, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES HAESKE.

lVitnesses:

FREDK. S. FISH, S. E. BABCOCK. 

